Salaries and payroll taxes in 2026, Hungary

Do you have employees on or near minimum wage? Read on!

The minimum wage is the lowest remuneration any employer can pay their employees. In Hungary, it is defined on a monthly basis, and it is adjusted regularly (at least every year) to counter the impact of inflation. In fact, there are two types of minimum wage in Hungary:

• Minimum wage: can be paid to employees whose job does not require any qualification. This is now increased by 11% from HUF 290,800 gross to HUF 322,800 gross as of 1 January 2026.
• Guaranteed minimum salary: can be paid to employees whose job requires at least a high school diploma. This is now increased by 7% from HUF 348,800 to HUF 373,200 gross as of 1 January 2026.

If you have employees who receive a monthly salary that will be less than the minimum starting from January, you must increase their salaries to stay compliant with regulations. You must also modify their labor contracts to include the salary raise.

Your company costs will increase by both the raise you give and the proportionately higher taxes you need to pay after each employee (see below).

Do you take salary as a managing director? Are you paying minimum contributions? Read on!

The Hungarian minimum wage has increased to HUF 322,800, and the guaranteed minimum salary to HUF 373,200 as of 1 January 2026. The managing director’s salary or the base of the minimum contributions also follows this increase. Read more here.

Salary calculation in 2026

When negotiating salaries, in Hungary we always mean the gross salary, and this is what will be indicated in the labor contract. When minimum wages are discussed, that also means the gross amount.

This is because employees must pay taxes after their income, but the taxes over time: various tax benefits may become available or unavailable based on age, marital status, or the number of children. As a result, it is more transparent to stick to the gross salary during negotiations. At the same time, it is not the employee’s, but the employer’s responsibility to calculate the taxes the employee must pay and forward them to the Tax Authority. This way the employee will always receive their net salary or take-home pay.

To calculate taxes, employers must collect and store relevant information about their employees. If an employee doesn’t want to share this type of information with the employer, they can reclaim taxes at the end of the year, during the yearly tax returns.

Additionally, the employer must pay taxes above the gross salary simply for employing someone. This must be calculated and paid to the Tax Authority monthly, alongside the employee’s taxes. The sum of the gross salary and your own taxes will be the total salary cost for each employee every month.

In the below comparison table, you can see the Hungarian payroll taxes in 2026 for the minimum wage, the guaranteed minimum salary, and another amount. If you want to check salary costs for other salaries, visit our salary calculator here. The indicated amounts are all in HUF.

The above table does not include wage supplements that you might need to pay for overtime, shift work, or working on holidays. Wage supplements will increase in proportion with the hourly pay of your employees.

No changes to payroll taxes in 2026

Payroll related tax rates remain the same in 2026. This includes the personal income tax, the social security contribution, and the social contribution tax. As a result, payroll costs at your Hungarian company will only change in proportion to the raise you give your employees.

Family tax benefit increases

The family tax benefit does not affect your company costs, only the take-home-pay of your employees. The family tax benefit reduces the tax base of your employee, this way increasing the net salary. Last year, it was announced that the family tax benefit would be raised in two phases, from July 1, 2025, and from January 1, 2026. In line with this, the family tax benefit will increase as follows:

• HUF 133,340 after 1 child, leaving up to HUF 20,000 with the family
• HUF 266,660 after 2 children, leaving up to HUF 80,000 with the family
• HUF 440,000 after 3 or more children, leaving up to HUF 198,000 with the family

Please note that since last year, this tax benefit is not available to most third-country nationals. Read more here.

Fringe benefits in 2026

The SZÉP Card, which is the most popular form of fringe benefit or “non-salary compensation” in Hungary, received a new “pocket” last year. The new pocket is called “Active Hungarians”, and it allows HUF 10,000 / month to be spent on sports. With this, the yearly SZÉP Card limit increased from HUF 450,000 to HUF 570,000.

Right now, the SZÉP Card is also available for buying groceries. This extension of the program was introduced as of December 1, 2025, and will remain available until April 30, 2026, just after the general elections. Please note that grocery stores not selling items normally available under the SZÉP Card scheme might not be accepting SZÉP Cards, because they might not want to update their agreement with their payment processor for such a limited time.

Last year, 50% of the SZÉP card funds was allowed to be spent on home renovation. This project ended on December 31, 2025, so this option is no longer available. Similarly, the option to use voluntary pension funds for housing and renovations will also expire.

The housing allowance introduced in 2025 will remain available. Employers may provide HUF 150,000 / month or HUF 1.8 million / year to their employees under 35 taxed at just 28% to be spent on rent or on the repayment of a housing loan.

Free cash withdrawal

Starting from February 2026, the monthly limit of free cash withdrawal is increased to HUF 300,000. Currently the monthly limit is HUF 150,000 in at most 2 instalments. The expansion will apply to HUF withdrawals made with Hungarian bank cards by natural persons at least 16 years old who have a Hungarian address. This change might not directly affect Hungarian businesses, but it is relevant to employees.

The Helpers Team is here to help

Have you already considered how raising the minimum wage will affect your employees and your Hungarian company? Even if your employees are not on minimum wage, the start of the year is a good time to adjust salaries for inflation.

Make sure to budget for the increased payroll costs, take care of updating labor contracts, and consider if you would like to expand the fringe benefits you offer. If you are already our client, contact your account manager to discuss how we can help you with these tasks. If you are not yet a client, feel free to contact us to discuss your options.

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